The news that Rush Limbaugh had entered a Hawaii hospital over the New Year's weekend complaining of chest pains triggered a volcanic Internet eruption for the hard left -- the likes of which we've never seen before. If Mt. Vesuvius could vomit in a literal sense, this would be it.

This time, these radicals let their guard down and showed their true colors.

The Twitter lines were ablaze as liberals celebrated the news, news that suggested Mr. Limbaugh was at the very least very ill, and quite possibly dying or maybe already dead:

"Rush Limbaugh was rushed to the hospital in Honolulu. Maybe Santa did get my letter."

"Rush was rushed to the Hospital. Just when I thought Christmas was over..."

"Come on God, I don't ask for much, and I very rarely ask you to smite anyone, but please kill Rush Limbaugh tonight."

Sounding boards like Democratic Underground had field days, living down to their reputations for wishing the very worst for conservatives. One very early conversation among their members carried this exchange:

"I hope he croaks. The world would be a better place."

"No such luck! Remember, 'only the good die young.'"

"If that holds true, the miserable troglodyte will make Methuselah look like a teenager by the time he dies."

Over on the pop culture TMZ site, there were some strong words of encouragement for the radio talk show titan, but still the leftist hatred dominated. Examples:

"Best news I've heard in years ... Hope he joins (Michael Jackson) the sooner the better."

"Won't miss ya! There will be a little less rage in this world if this druggie goes."

"I hope he fails."

"I hope he dies."

And yet nothing quite matched the bile belched by those fine men (and women, too?) at the far left's Valhalla, the Daily Kos. Who writes for the Daily Kos, you ask? Well, to quote the site (even at the risk of exposing its need for a wee bit of updating), "Among luminaries posting diaries on the site are President Jimmy Carter, Senator Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi," etc., etc. In other words, the most powerful voices of the left in America purportedly reside at the Daily Kos.

And what do Sen. Barack Obama's fans think of the news that Rush Limbaugh was at that moment in a hospital presumably fighting for his life? One blogger at the Daily Kos had the temerity to actually suggest that others not wish Rush ill will since it "feeds his ego." No such luck. Among the responses to his plea:

"It is nature's way of telling a-holes like Limbaugh that beers are being thrown back in celebration of that heart attack."

"If he gets well, so be it. If he gets worse, be it paralyzed, comatose, or dead, he's earned it. I hope he dies and I'm glad he's sick. All this fat a-hole has done is encourage a whole generation of Americans to be right-wing, bigoted scumbags like him. I'll never apologize for hating Rush. Or wishing death and illness on him."

"So if Adolf Hitler were to die today would we see a bunch of RIP diaries and 'our heart should go out to his friends and family'?"

It is heartening (pun intended) to note that not every liberal institution behaved so abominably. Let us hold up for commendation sites like the Huffington Post, which made the editorial decision not to run any vicious, attacks on Limbaugh, instead limiting its commenters to good wishes for his recovery.

Likewise, there were numerous liberal activists out there who, while clearly expressing their political differences with the conservative leader, also loudly expressed their desire for his well-being and equally loudly (and futilely) called for their fellow liberals to, well, behave.

But too many liberals didn't because too many liberals just can't, and I don't ever want to hear another sermon from them about "civility" or "the politics of personal destruction." They are no longer allowed to talk about "hate" or pass judgment on what is "mean-spirited." I don't want to hear the words "character assassination" or even "cheap shot" leave their lips.

Unless, of course, it's preceded by "I am guilty of..." Roger Ebert, the long-time movie critic, was for many years a very fat man. He is thinner now after a series of cancer surgeries on his throat and jaw, which have left him unable to speak without a machine. It is beyond curious -- it is crass and downright sick, wholly unprofessional and personally pathetic -- that this man found it appropriate to make Rush-is-a-fatty jokes on Twitter (especially since Limbaugh no longer is overweight).

"Rush: Hawaii is the only country where the Hawaiian shirts come in S, M, L, XL, Rush, and Sumo."

"Surgeons: 'Rush doesn't require a heart transplant, but an installation.'"

"Tests find nothing wrong with Rush Limbaugh's heart. Physically."

Ebert has apologized. Whatever.

Rush, it's good to hear you are well. It's a helluva way to start the new year.